Transformers Huminated Thrill of the Hunt
by TheWeasel027
Summary: A mysterious stranger arrives in Detroit, stirring up some bad memories for Ratchet. But when, the chase begins for the man, the Humanformer Autobots realize that they're the ones being hunted.
1. Let the Hunt Begin

SOME NOTES: I've been looking forward to this episode SO much. Lockdown is just so awesome and I'm so eager to find out what he's like because to be honest I'm totally adlibbing. Either way, I hope you enjoy this just as much as I do making it.

"It's so disgusting. So barbaric. In the name of Primus someone shut this place down!" Ratchet stared in horror at the demonic facility.

"It's just a," Optimus tried to remember what it was called, "oh yeah, a 'plastic surgery' uhh, place-…thing…"

"I know what it's called! But what I _don't_ get is why in the world people would want to get cut open like this!"

"As a medic, surely, you've dealt with surgery yourself, Ratchet."

"That's different! Those people _needed_ surgery! These people _want_ surgery! And to do it for _LOOKS_?!" Ratchet eyed some person walking in. "If you know what's good fer ya, you'll turn around, and never come to this place again!" The person screamed and ran as fast as he could down the street.

"I mean, what kind of idiotic, self-conscious MORON would ever agree to this kind of junk?!"

"Hi guys!" Bumblebee entered the room covered with marker markings on his face, "This guy says he can make me look even better than before! I'll be even more gorgeous!"

"Yes, it's a very simple procedure you see. All we're going to do is make a small incision here, here, and here, insert a few implants, and he'll look as handsome as the day he was born," the doctor explained, "I believe a small rhinoplasty wouldn't be too bad either?"

"A rhino-whooza-what?" Bumblebee asked. Ratchet smacked Bumblebee on the back of the head and threw him some tissue paper.

"Bumblebee, wipe off those stupid drawings before I get too embarrassed to be seen with you." Bumblebee obediently, with a defiant expression, wiped off the marker ink.

"I assure you sir," the doctor wrapped his arm around Ratchet's shoulder in a friendly notion, "plastic surgery is an entirely safe, and normal procedure."

"Get your hands offa me you dang, dirty, slagger," Ratchet growled.

"Perhaps you would like some surgery? Ya know? To take off a couple years?"

That was the last straw…

*************************************************************

Fifteen seconds later, the doctor was magnetically stapled to the wall. Ratchet stormed out followed by Optimus and Bumblebee.

"What the slag's your problem?!" Bumblebee demanded.

"I've decided to send that guy a message."

"Why you gotta be so grumpy all the time? The night is still young! Unlike _some_ people," he said, pointing a thumb at Ratchet.

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but Bumblebee's right. You need to get out more," Optimus suggested.

"Yeah, I know I've been a bit grumpier than usual. It's just," Ratchet rubbed the scar above his right eye, "my old war wounds're acting up again. Usually means trouble brewing."

"Well you probably did see some pretty hard action back in the days," Optimus said, "You wanna talk—?"

"Yes I did! And no I still don't wanna talk about it!"

"Now that's just what I'm talking about," Bumblebee patted ratchet on the back (to his annoyance), "Why live in the past when you can party in the present? Loosen up! Enjoy the bright lights; the big city!" just then, all the lights went off, "Okay then, the big city!"

Just then, Optimus noticed danger. He pushed Bumblebee out of the way just as a net slammed into the road and ripped it apart while trying to pull into a ball. He looked up to see a shadowed figure standing on top of a building. The figure ran up just as Optimus looked at him.

"Follow that man!" Optimus pointed.

"On it!" Bumblebee ran after the man on the building that was leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Bumblebee shot electric bolts out of his stingers. The bolts seemed to just bounce away and dissipate. "What the heck?"

Optimus activated his grappler cables and shot himself up to the silhouette. The man then leaped down and jabbed his hand into the wall to stop his fall. He then climbed his way down by smashing his hands into the wall. Optimus used his grappler cables to freefall to the man. The man pulled one hand out, revealing it to be a hook, and shot several mini-bombs at some passersby. Optimus gasped and swung down. He yanked them out of the range of the explosions.

"Next time, be aware of your surroundings," Optimus advised when he set them down. They nodded and ran. The man released his grip from the wall and dropped down and went straight for Ratchet…

*****************************************************************

"_Ratchet?! Ratchet, come in!"Ratchet ducked behind the remains of a wall and activated his holo-comlink._

"_This is field medic Ratchet sir!" he responded, "I'm surrounded by Decepticon fire! I'm pinned down!" A small blast threw Ratchet across the floor._

"_Medic! Medic! Someone help!" a voice called. Ratchet looked into a hole in the ground to see a woman lying on the floor clenching her leg. Ratchet jumped down and sat next to her. He recognized her as the intelligence he was sent to find._

"_Ratchet, did you find her" Ultra Magnus asked._

"_Affirmative sir. But unfortunately, so did the Decepticons!"_

"_Help her out! She's holding valuable access codes that will help us win the war! She must not fall into Decepticon hands!" Ratchet nodded._

"_Something's wrong doc. My leg. I can't feel it," she grabbed her leg. Ratchet lifted it up and tore off the pants leg at the knee, then looked at the leg. It was obviously broken, probably from the fall, and bleeding._

"_It looks bad, but I'll have you fixed up in no time," Ratchet assured her._

"_Thanks." She closed her eyes. Ratchet patted her on the face until she opened her eyes again._

"_Come on, stay with me. What's your name?" he asked as he checked her pupil dilation._

"_Ar-Arcee. It's Arcee sir."_

"_Don't call me sir! I work for a living. Call me Ratchet."_

"_Yes sir. Yes…Ratchet," she smiled at him._

"_Okay, listen Arcee," Ratchet laid her down, "I'm going to have to sedate you so I can perform surgery. This should put you out in a simulated death. You won't breath; you won't even have a pulse." Ratchet pulled out some medicine and put it in a syringe._

"_But, what'll happen to me?"_

"_Don't worry; you'll wake up long before any damage can be done to your body."_

"_Okay…"_

"_You ready?"_

"_Uh-huh." She closed her eyes and braced herself. Ratchet quickly gave her the shot. The chemicals worked quickly through her blood stream. She took in one last breath and went limp. Ratchet immediately started splinting the broken leg._

****************************************************************

Ratchet woke up from his daze and held the man in a magnetic field. The man floated there. He was still wrapped in shadow, so Ratchet still couldn't make out who it was. The man looked at the pink field around him. Ratchet could hear something charging, and suddenly the field disappeared. The man dropped down. Bumblebee shoved Ratchet out of the way. The man shot a tri-rope at Ratchet and Bumblebee. The ropes wrapped around them and tied them together. The man then ran off. Optimus showed up and sliced apart the rope.

"You guys alright?" he asked.

"We're fine!" Ratchet pushed off Bumblebee.

"You call that fine?!" Bumblebee demanded, "You froze up like molasses in December!"

"I did not freeze up! That guy just took me by surprise!"

"Speaking of which, who the heck was that guy?"

*******************************************************************

Meanwhile, the unknown man sat in an alley and checked his facial scans of the Autobots he'd encountered. It was confirmed. They were definitely his targets…


	2. Lockdown

"So Ratchet, what was your problem earlier?" Optimus asked while Ratchet checked his medi-pack supplies.

"I didn't and don't have a problem."

"War wounds still acting up?"

"Still not wanting to talk about it."

"Well you know you can. Anytime. Ya know? Just man to man. You and me. If there's anything you wanna—"

"Are you done yet or am I gonna have to sew that mouth shut for ya?"

"I'll just be going now." Optimus walked off to watch the news with Prowl, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead. "So what's going on out there?"

"I found this news about that mystery man of yours. Apparently there are power outages where ever he goes. The police have been unable to even see him clearly," Prowl told him.

"Any more info?"

"It's live."

"Right, Autobots roll out!"

*************************************************************

_An explosion caused some rubble to drip off the ceiling and onto Ratchet's shoulder._

"_It's getting too hot above ground," Ratchet concluded, "Better move somewhere safer." Ratchet looked around and saw a tunnel entrance. "Looks promising," he said sarcastically. He picked up Arcee and held her on his shoulders. Just then, he realized he was being followed. He looked back to see a shadowed figure keeping in pace behind Ratchet. _

"_Who are you?" Ratchet finally turned around and asked._

"_Oh it's not important who _I _am so much as who your friend is there, Autobot," the man answered. Then, Ratchet confirmed that this guy was no ally._

"_You're not gonna touch her," Ratchet growled._

"_And you plan to stop me?" he laughed, "How you gonna pull that off?"_

"_Like this." Ratchet used his magnetizers to yank the ceiling down on the stranger. When the smoke cleared, all that remained was a pile of rubble. Ratchet started to walk onward, but an explosion from behind knocked him down. Ratchet looked in horror as the man emerged from the rubble._

"_Now I'm upset." The man stepped into the sunlight. The bald man had tattoos all over his face. He had some chest and shoulder armor with spikes. Just then, Ratchet saw that he was wearing a brace on each leg, both of which had probably been badly snapped, and had two mechanical arms. He fired his right arm like a rocket. Ratchet used his magnetizers to rip the arm apart. He then charged at the tattoo-man who, even with one arm, still managed to easily force Ratchet to the ground and pin him down._

"_I was gonna just grab the girl and get gone," the man said, "but you're just a huge pain in the neck. So now, you're coming with me."_

"_And how you plan on pulling that off?" Ratchet mocked before attempting a kick to the man's face. The man grabbed Ratchet's foot and threw him across the tunnel to the wall. The man kept Ratchet pinned to the wall with his foot._

"_Like this," the man repeated before punching Ratchet in the eye. Then all went black…_

*****************************************************************

"Hey Ratchet didn't you hear Optimus?" Bulkhead nudged the elder Autobot on the shoulder, "We gotta go. We're going after that blackout guy." Ratchet pulled down his hand when he realized he was rubbing his tingling scar.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

"You could always just stay here and monitor if you're not entirely up to it," Optimus suggested.

"I said I'm fine!" Ratchet insisted, "Let's move!" He followed the others onto the Auto-Rover.

*******************************************************************

Optimus followed the man into an alley.

"Alright! We can do this the easy way or the hard way!" Optimus shot some foam, but the man ducked out of the alley. Optimus followed him, but slipped on some oil-slick. He used his axe to stop himself from sliding in front of a passing truck. He felt the wind from it pass in front of his face. When it passed, he gave a relieved sigh.

"That was too close."

********************************************************************

"Hey guys! I found him!" Bumblebee alerted the others to the stranger who ran off. Bumblebee shot at him with his stingers, but just as before they bounced off and dissipated.

"How's he keep doing that?!" Bumblebee exclaimed. Just then, the man was knocked out of the alley thanks to a kick to the head.

"At least that didn't bounce off," Prowl smiled. They then continued their chase.

"Ratchet! Bulkhead! We're sending him your way!" Bumblebee told them on his comlink. Ratchet and Bulkhead appeared on the other end of the street. The man stopped and looked at Ratchet. Ratchet stared at him.

He still couldn't see him, but Ratchet could make out some features: his chest armor, his leg braces, and his mechanical left arm. But the most damning evidence of all was his hooked hand, gleaming in the moonlight. The man used a smoke screen. The smoke cleared, and he was gone.

"Come on guys! He couldn't have gotten far!" Bulkhead eagerly insisted. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Prowl ran off leaving Ratchet alone, still staring into space.

"The blackouts…that hook… It can't be; it's impossible!" he repeated those words in his mind, but the truth continuously surfaced…

****************************************************************

"_Ah! Wha-what-what happened?!" Ratchet gasped himself awake. His eye darted across the room. Eye? He suddenly realized that his right eye was swollen shut. He could feel that blood had crusted on the left side of his face and some stitches on his forehead. He tried to move, but he'd been tied down to a table._

"_Well, well, look who just woke up," Ratchet's captor chuckled while searching through a cabinet full of mechanical modifications, gadgets, and weapons._

"_You Decepticon SCUM!" Ratchet screamed in anger._

"_Me? A Decepticon? No. not Decepticon. But I wouldn't necessarily call myself Autobot either. I'm part of the Bounty Hunter's Guild. Name's Lockdown," he introduced._

"_If you're not a Decepticon then why'd you come after us?"_

"_Ya see, Decepticons pay real good for battle plans, access codes, intelligence. Ya know? Stuff like that," Lockdown sneered, "And they just so happened to send me this picture of your friend here and some simple instructions, 'Alive. Name your price.' And I've got a feeling that she's gonna get me some sweet upgrades." _

"_Well she's not alive. She died during surgery."_

"_Please. You think I'm gonna fall for that? I know you injected her with something to stop her pulse. She'll wake up soon enough. And don't worry, I fixed her up too. Gotta have her looking nice for the Decepticons."_

"_And why'd you take me?"_

"_You really got under my skin. You oughta be prouda yourself." Lockdown pulled out a mechanical arm with a wicked hook on the end. He snapped it onto his elbow and bent it in different directions then showed it to Ratchet. "Say, how you like my new hand?"_

"_Looks to me like you're trying to accommodate for something," Ratchet smiled mockingly, "What's the matter? No natural talent?"_

"_Don't like the hook do ya?" Lockdown went back to the cabinet and attached something to his hooked arm, "How about my new EMP generator?" he sneered. Ratchet gasped._


	3. Can't Go Back

"There he is!" Optimus shouted. Ratchet snapped back to reality to see Optimus shoot across the sky using his telescoping axe handle in a pole vault. Optimus landed on the other side of a building in front of the man.

"Hold it right there! Now put your hands over your head and surrender," Optimus demanded.

"Just one problem with that. I don't do 'surrender'," the man said. The lights around town suddenly switched on, revealing the man's tattoos, armor, mechanical arms, and hooked hand.

"Who are you?"

"Oh it's not important who _I_ am so much as it is, who _you_ are," Lockdown activated his EMP generator and fired a beam at Optimus. His nervous system shut down, and he fell to the floor. Optimus tried to move but couldn't.

"Now let's have a talk back at my ship," Lockdown picked up Optimus with one arm. Ratchet ran to his aid but was too late. Lockdown used another smokescreen and was gone.

"Prime! NO!" Ratchet yelled.

*****************************************************************

"I still can't find Prime's signal anywhere," Prowl told the others, "His comlink must be jammed."

"How can some guy just snatch up Prime and then mask his signal?" Bumblebee asked out loud, "How'd some guy beat him anyway?!"

"So what're we supposed to do?" Bulkhead asked. The Autobots looked at Ratchet.

"What're you lookin' at me fer? I'm a medic not a field commander!" Ratchet snapped.

"Well you obviously know something about Prime's kidnapper," Prowl said.

"Yeah, you didn't start acting _this_ bad until that guy showed up," Bumblebee agreed.

"He's not just some guy. He's a Decepticon. Well, sort of. His name's Lockdown," Ratchet explained, "He's the one who captured me in the Great War. The one who gave me _this_," he pointed at his scar, "He's a bounty hunter. He snatches up Autobots and takes em to the Decepticons in exchange for upgrades. And takes our personal modifications as trophies. But the worst part is that when he's trying to get info, he doesn't use mind scans. He has _other_ methods…"

********************************************************************

"Ah stop you're wiggling, _Optimus Prime_. Gets annoying after a while," Lockdown finished typing on the screen then walked to Optimus's side.

"How do you know my name?"

"It's my business to know. There's quite a price on your head for destroying Megatron."

"But that wasn't me. It was Star—"

"I don't care. All I care about is that you're going to get me some nice upgrades." Lockdown walked over to a cabinet and looked through it.

"My Autobots will find you. And they'll take you down."

"Bring em on! I could always use an exercise." Optimus then realized that he was missing his axe.

"Looking for something?" Lockdown held up Optimus's axe. Optimus activated his grapplers at yanked the axe out of his hand. The axe cut through the carbon-fiber cables. Optimus was about to get up, but was hit by another EMP leaving him dazed.

"That was a low-level EMP. Just to quiet ya down." A new set of cables wrapped around Optimus and held him down. "Don't make me wipe your brain." Lockdown picked up the axe.

"Gotta say, you're good. That axe is the first thing I'd ever seen could slice through those cables. But those grapplers are good too. Guess I'll just take em both. Oh and by the by. The Decepticons said I could have some fun with you before we arrived," Lockdown picked up some tools that shimmered in front of Optimus's face, "Now open wide and say, '_Ouch_.'"

*****************************************************************

"We've been searching for over an hour!" Bumblebee breathed heavily, "We're never gonna find him."

"How could I not've seen it earlier? Lockdown was trailing us; hiding in plain sight. And we bought it!" Ratchet raged more at himself than the others.

"Wait a second, 'hiding in plain sight.' That's it!" Prowl snapped his fingers. He activated his holo-projector and showed them a map, "This is a map of Detroit where Prime disappeared." He projected a new map with one difference: a missing building, "And the same area just a week ago."

"Where'd that warehouse go?" Bulkhead asked.

"It was never there."

"A holographic cloak," Ratchet concluded.

"No doubt hiding the bounty hunter's ship. Clever," Prowl said.

"Not clever enough," Bumblebee said, "Let's go kick his Prime-snatching butt!"

"I can't go back there. I just can't," Ratchet said.

"Are you nuts? This is Prime we're talking about!" Bulkhead reminded.

"No time to argue, let's move," Prowl lead the others on board the Auto-Rover, once again leaving Ratchet to think.

"I just can't go back," Ratchet repeated through clenched teeth.

****************************************************************

"You have Optimus Prime? Hand him over at once! Zat Autobot will pay for what he did to our leader!" Blitzwing shook his fist.

"Yeah whatever. Say, speaking of 'pay'…" Lockdown didn't need to finish that statement.

"Patience my bounty hunting friend. You shall not be disappointed wit your upgrades. So long as I'm not disappointed by your results," Blitzwing twitched wildly, "Oh! Is that Optimus? Can I say hi? Hi Mr. Primey! Lemme see his axe. CAN I SEE HIS AXE?! AHAHAHAHA HA!" Before Blitzwing could continue, Lockdown cut off the transmission. He'd dealt with Blitzwing long enough to know when it was time to stop. Lockdown shook his head and turned back to Optimus.


	4. Who's Hunting Whom?

"This bounty hunter is smart," Prowl stopped Bumblebee and Bulkhead from going any further to the fearsome warehouse, "We must be smarter. Proceed with caution."

"Forget caution! Let's get him!" Bulkhead charged in full speed. Prowl sighed.

*****************************************************************

"Autobots," Lockdown sighed while looking at the screen showing three Autobots surrounding the warehouse, "Predictable as ever." He then activated the defenses.

******************************************************************

Turrets popped up around the facility and shot at the Autobots.

"Ow! Watch the jacket! You have any idea how much it costs to fix this thing?!" Bumblebee ranted while dodging the lasers. Meanwhile, Prowl was taking a more offensive approach. He ran past the lasers and leapt onto the roof with some help from his jump-jets. He cut off a turret using his shuriken and shot at some other guns. He then tossed the gun away.

Bulkhead smashed his wrecking ball through the wall and crashed through the hole. He looked at the room until he saw the silhouette of the man called Lockdown. A single light switched on over Lockdown.

"So you wanna play rough? Do ya?" Bulkhead asked him. He prepared his wrecking ball.

"Bring it on Autobot." Bulkhead launched his wrecking ball. Lockdown moved to the left. The wrecking ball smashed into a support beam. Lockdown fired a marble at the wrecking ball. The marble burst and released a load of cement. The cement crawled up Bulkhead's cable and wrapped around him.

"Hey! What is this stuff?! I can't move!"

"That oughta hold ya." Lockdown walked off.

"No fair!"

*************************************************************

Bumblebee had finally managed to find a hiding spot from the turrets when they finally stopped shooting. Just then he saw Lockdown walk by.

"Guys I found him!" Bumblebee chased after Lockdown and shot at him with his stingers. When they turned a corner, Lockdown was gone. Bumblebee looked around, but was suddenly caught by a tri-rope. He fell to the ground with a thud. Lockdown dropped from the roof.

"Hey, that's Prime's axe," Bumblebee noticed the axe hanging on Lockdown's belt.

"Uh-huh, Prime's axe. And soon enough, I'll have your stingers."

************************************************************

"Another trophy for the wall," Lockdown said before getting a kick in the face which knocked him back two steps. Prowl struck a defensive pose.

"I almost forgot about you. It feels like eons since anyone's ever gotten the drop on me," Lockdown commented.

"Next time'll be much sooner," Prowl said before attacking. Lockdown and Prowl were equally matched, being able to strike, defend, and counter just as easily as the other. Before Prowl could gain the upper hand, however, Lockdown hit him with an EMP blast. Prowl felt his body go numb and fell to the ground.

"Ya know, I like you. We could probably teach each other a few tricks. If I wasn't about to turn ya over to the Decepticons."

"Step away from the Autobot!" a voice demanded. Lockdown turned to see Ratchet.

"Wait a second, I know you. EMP generator right? I'm not so good with names and faces, but a trophy I never forget. Say, how's the forehead? Still got the scratch I see. How's about I hit the other eye. Ya know? Even it out."

"You're never taking another Autobot ever again," Ratchet gripped his magnetizers.

"You couldn't stop me when you were young! What makes you think you'll be any better off as some senile, crotchety old man? And because of you, your little girlfriend took quite a blast to the noggin if I remember right," Lockdown mocked. Ratchet charged at him, but was hit by the EMP blast.

"Well that was even more pathetic than before," Lockdown laughed. He turned back to Prowl. Just then, an pink magnetic field threw Lockdown into a wall, then into a car, and slammed him down on the ground. Lockdown rubbed his aching head and saw Ratchet standing there.

"What the?! I took you out!" Lockdown fired another EMP beam, but Ratchet slapped it away then slammed Lockdown into a wall, flipped him, and slammed him again. Lockdown went limp and fell to the ground.

"I learned that trick during my time here. Called 'playing possum,'" Ratchet said, "Just don't ask me what a possum is." Ratchet picked Lockdown up one last time and sent him flying past the fence.

"I guess it never occurred to you that an EMP wouldn't work on the guy with magnetic powers." Ratchet walked to the warehouse door and opened it. Just as he'd expected, an air lock stood behind it. Ratchet used his magnetizer to hack into the control panel and open the door.

He walked down the hallway for what seemed like hours. With each step, he vividly remembered more and more of his past.

"It ends tonight," Ratchet told himself. He finally reached the end of the hallway and arrived in Lockdown's chop shop. Optimus was lying, beaten and weak, on the table.

"Ratchet?" he gasped. Ratchet rushed over and deactivated the cables. Optimus got up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Lockdown. He—"

"Don't talk. Lemme look at ya." Ratchet looked around for any severe damage. He already knew there wouldn't be more than some cuts and bruises. Lockdown liked his gifts to the Decepticons to look their best. Before Ratchet could finish, the ship rumbled. "The launch sequence's started. We've gotta move! Where're your grapplers?" Optimus pointed to a desk. Ratchet ran over and picked them up.

"Wait a sec," Ratchet gasped when he realized that the grapplers were gone. Just then, a grappling hook wrapped around Ratchet's throat, suffocating him.

"'Playing possum' eh? Gotta remember that one," Lockdown reminded himself. He pulled on Ratchet's noose.


	5. I'll Never Forgive You

"Is it just me or is that a very bad sound?" Bumblebee asked after he finally managed to cut himself free by using his stingers. He looked up to see the warehouse warping and turning into a large space ship.

"Yeah, that's bad…"

***************************************************************

Ratchet magnetically loosened and removed the grappler noose and tried to get Lockdown, but he dodged the magnetic field. Lockdown used the grapplers to grab a lance off the wall and throw it at Ratchet who dodged it but tripped. Lockdown stepped on his chest and kept him down.

"Ya know, I'm having second thoughts about those magnetizers of yours," Lockdown said, "I just might have to clear a new spot on the trophy case!"

"You want trophies?" Ratchet asked, he magnetically lifted up a trophy case and threw it at Lockdown, "Have your fill!" Ratchet got on top of the case and pushed his weight down causing Lockdown to grunt.

"Ya know, time was I coulda used my EMP. Ya know? To numb the pain of having a trophy case and an old guy on top of you. Too bad I don't have it anymore." Ratchet then used his magnetizer to rip away the grapplers, axe, and EMP generator.

"Stop please…" Lockdown groaned, "I did some bad stuff to ya. But can't you just forgive me? I promise. I'll make up for what I did to you." Lockdown smiled. Ratchet closed his eyes. He needed to think.

****************************************************************

"_You must have some primo knowledge girlie," Lockdown poked Arcee's temple, "Cuz you're getting an interrogation from Megatron himself."_

"_Bring me the girl," Megatron said over the vid-chat, "Do what you want with the other." Lockdown smiled evilly at the two Autobots and ended the transmission. He then went over to input the flight coordinates._

"_Ratchet," Arcee whispered, "catch." She kicked the EMP generator, sitting on the table next to her, over to Ratchet. Ratchet caught it by the nozzle. "Use it on me. If I'm right, it should wipe my memory. I'll be useless to Megatron."_

"_But what if it wipes your mind? You could die. And sides, even if it works, Megatron'll kill us anyway."_

"_We have to accept the possibility that we won't escape this place with our lives. But at least, Megatron won't have the codes. Now please, hurry." Ratchet managed to change the setting to a narrow beam at a low enough level that he hoped would take out her memory, but wouldn't cause any more damage than that._

"_I pray you're right Arcee."_

"_Me too." She closed her eyes and prepared for the blast. Ratchet raised the generator to her temple._

"_What are you—?!" Lockdown ran over and tried to wrestle the generator away from Ratchet, triggering the beam. The beam ran through some of the equipment, shutting it off, until it hit Arcee, pointblank, in the forehead. She then went limp._

"_ARCEE!" NOOO!!!" Ratchet pointed the gun at Lockdown's heart. The beam made a direct hit. Lockdown gasped. He grabbed Ratchet's throat. His grip weakened. Lockdown struggled to breath and fell to the ground. Ratchet deactivated the cables, picked up his magnetizers and Arcee, and walked out of the hallway, forgetting the EMP generator. He'd had enough of that thing to last a lifetime._

_They finally reached the outside. Ratchet took Arcee behind a broken down wall and stood her up. _

"_Arcee. We did it. We're free. We got away," Ratchet eagerly told her, but she didn't respond._

"_Arcee?" he patted her cheek, "Arcee? Come on. Wake up. You're not dead. You can't be. You just can't…" He shook her, but her head just fell to the side. Ratchet felt a tear roll down his face. "Arcee…" he lamented._

"_Arcee?" Ratchet jumped a bit when he heard her voice. She stared at Ratchet. _

"_Arcee! You're okay!" he grinned._

"_Who's Arcee?" she asked. Ratchet felt like his heart had been ripped out. "Who are you? Where are we? What's going on?"_

**********************************************************

"Can' you just forgive me? I promise. I'll make up for what I did to you," Lockdown feigned a smile. Ratchet closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. How could he forgive Lockdown after everything he'd done?

"After all, you owe me for the heart attack," Lockdown reminded. Ratchet turned away and was about to walk off, but then time seemed to stop. Ratchet suddenly became aware of Lockdown's smile turning into a sneer, his lies, his reaching for the whip, and the swing. In a flash, Ratchet grabbed the whip mid-air, threw it away, and surrounded Lockdown in a magnetic field. Lockdown screamed in pain.

"I WILL _NEVER_ FORGIVE YOU!" Ratchet screamed angrily. He blew apart Lockdown's arms. After a minute, Lockdown stopped screaming; Ratchet felt his anger subside.

"I'm not going to kill you," Ratchet breathed, "But I'm not going to save you either." He fired a pulse at the controls. The floor could be felt tipping.

"What are you doing?!" Lockdown demanded when he realized the ship was going into a nosedive. Ratchet picked up Optimus and carried him to the hallway.

"This one's for Arcee…" Ratchet whispered.

***************************************************************

The ground was coming up fast. Too fast. Ratchet and Optimus leapt out of the airlock, leaving the ship to dive into the river. Ratchet used his magnetizers to slow their fall, but only a bit.

"Hang on Prime! This'll hurt a little!" Ratchet told him. They hit the ground and rolled as Lockdown's ship crashed into the river.

***************************************************************

"_But when investigators went to look for the ship, it had mysteriously vanished, baffling witnesses and police alike_."

"Lockdown escapes again," Ratchet walked into the room just as the newscaster delivered the news, "I've got your gauntlets fixed up." Ratchet tossed Optimus the gauntlets. He snapped them onto his wrists.

"Thanks Ratchet," he said.

"When I get my hands on that bounty hunter, I'm gonna—"

"Hold it Ratchet. I don't know everything, but I know that that bounty hunter did some bad things to you. But no matter what he did, it's never worth stooping to his level."

"You're right Prime. So how you feeling?"

"Good as new."

"That's not what I meant."

"Let's just say I've got a better understanding of what you went through back in the day. And why you don't wanna remember it."

"It's not that I don't wanna remember. I have to. For those who can't."

"Still, I suppose it doesn't hurt to talk about it sometimes. With a trusted friend?"

"So what do you wanna know?"

"Let's start from the beginning."

"It all started with a girl from the Intelligence Corps. Her name was Arcee…"

***************************************************************

"_Hey Arcee," Ratchet greeted._

"_Oh, hi, uh…" Arcee bit her lip._

"_Ratchet," he reminded._

"_Ratchet. Sorry."_

"_It's okay. How you holding up?"_

"_Alright. Did I know you before?"_

"_Not really. We kinda met under… difficult…circumstances."_

"_Then perhaps we should be more properly introduced?"Arcee blushed._

"_I'd like nothing more."_

"_I'm Arcee."_

"_I'm Ratchet."_

*****************************************************************

Final Notes: Well that was certainly a fun episode. I wasn't sure about the "Plastic Surgery" scene, but it turned out pretty well. To help clarify as to why Lockdown is a "cyborg", as my favorite reviewer Zim'sMostLoyalServant put it, he had suffered some serious injuries earlier in his career which blew off his arms, and shattered his legs. So now he wears mechanical arms and leg braces. The chest armor was originally meant to serve as an accessory, but became a necessity to cover up the machine that protects his heart after Ratchet caused his heart attack. And, I feel like I should clarify this especially, Lockdown wasn't anywhere NEAR sorry, during his apology. It was just more "playing possum". I also wanted to make the episode just a _little_ bit darker, which is why I included the "Apologies" scene and the final flashback which was inspired by an image at DevantArt called "Recognition" from Transformers-Mosaic.

I hope you enjoyed.


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